(CNN) - A Catholic priest has gone to court, saying the partial government shutdown is preventing him from providing religious services– even voluntarily– on a U.S. military base.

Father Ray Leonard filed a lawsuit Monday in federal district court in Washington, saying he "wishes to continue practicing his faith and ministering to his faith community free of charge... but has been told that he is subject to arrest if he does so."FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and his Republican counterpart, Mitch McConnell, both said Monday they were optimistic they would forge a compromise acceptable to both parties to end the partial government shutdown and avoid a debt default as soon as Thursday.

(CNN) - While a Senate deal may be in the works, a key White House meeting is on hold. Still, government workers have received a reduced paycheck that reflects the furloughs, unemployment claims have skyrocketed, government-affiliated businesses are scrambling to stay afloat, states are dipping into their rainy-day funds. Oh, and markets are extremely nervous as the debt limit deadline is just three days away. Now, it’s getting serious.

Washington (CNN) - Speaking at a local food pantry, President Barack Obama on Monday acknowledged the Senate has made "some progress" in a deal to reopen the government and raise the nation's debt ceiling.

But he was not entirely confident the deal would be reached before Thursday's deadline, when the Treasury Department says it will no longer be able to pay all of the government's bills.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - Speaker John Boehner and other top House GOP leaders are meeting Monday afternoon to discuss their options and consider preparing their own bill to raise the nation's debt ceiling.

One senior House Republican leadership aide tells CNN that if negotiations don't speed up in the Senate and something doesn't get moving soon, it could be difficult to reach a deal before Thursday's debt ceiling deadline because of possible time-consuming procedural hurdles in the Senate.FULL POST

(CNN) - President Barack Obama will meet on Monday at 3 p.m ET with congressional leaders, the White House announced as the partial government shutdown reaches the two-week mark and a U.S. default looms as soon as Thursday.

(CNN) – The Senate is 70% to 80% close to a deal to raise the debt ceiling and end the government shutdown, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, said Monday on CNN's "New Day."

"I think we're 70%-80% there, putting the extra 20-25% to it," he told CNN's Chris Cuomo. "When should the (continuing resolution) come due, when should the debt ceiling come due, and does that give that time for the budget conference, the budget committees to sit down and work through this? Those are the details that have to be worked out."FULL POST

(CNN) - The gap between Democratic nominee Cory Booker and Republican nominee Steve Lonegan is shrinking, but Booker still holds onto the lead in the New Jersey special Senate race, according to a poll released Monday, two days before Election Day.

Washington (CNN) - The Republican National Committee is concentrating its government shutdown firepower against two of the top Democrats in Congress and three Senate Democrats who may face tough re-elections next year.

The RNC said Monday it's launching robocalls in the home states and districts of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, chair of the rival Democratic National Committee, as well as Sens. Mark Begich of Alaska, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Kay Hagan of North Carolina.FULL POST